President Trump on Wednesday told Gulf leaders he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but said Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the region as part of any potential agreement.
Iran “must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Trump said in remarks at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi capital. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in four rounds of talks since early last month focused on Iran’s nuclear program. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that he believes brokering a deal is possible but that the window is closing.
The president’s strongly worded push on Iran to cease support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen come as its proxy network has faced significant setbacks in the 19 months since Hamas-led militants launched the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 251 were taken as hostages back into Gaza. Some of those hostages have been killed or have been released as part of deals, but there are still some 58 hostages being held by Hamas.
In Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Mr. Trump’s remarks “deceitful” but did not directly address his call on Iran to cease support of proxy groups.
